1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a composition and a method of using the composition for treating opiate-addicted individuals to attenuate the withdrawal syndrome.
2. Description of Related Art
Withdrawal from addiction to opiates is accompanied by a variety of metabolic and behavioral disorders including severe malaise, nausea, tremors, and cramps. At present, if one wants to attenuate or prevent the severity of withdrawal in a heroin addict, one administers methadone, which protects against withdrawal symptoms of opiate abstinence and blocks the euphorigenic action of heroin and other opiates. The problem with methadone is that it, too, is an addicting drug, and it must be administered daily (Dole, V. P. and Nyswander, M. E., Methadone Maintenance Treatment, a Ten-Year Perspective, J. American Medical Association 235(19):2117-2119 (1976). Levamisole is a compound which was originally used as an anthelminthic agent (The Merck Index, 11th Edition, Citation No. 9161). Recent interest in levamisole centers on the drug's restorative effects on suppressed immune response and anti-tumor activity, and the drug's effect on colorectal carcinoma (Burden et al., Immunotherapy of Human Cancer, Elsevier, North Holland, Inc., 1982, pp. 231-5). It would be desirable to have available for treating opiate addicts a nonaddictive compound that alleviates the severity of the withdrawal process and also has a positive effect on the immune system.